Frigid temps cut US natural gas supply as demand soars, Texas faces possible shortfall
By Scott DiSavino
(Reuters) — U.S. natural gas output fell to a preliminary 11-month low on Sunday as frigid weather froze wells across the country, while gas demand for heating and power generation was on track to hit record highs.
In Texas the state's power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), forecast electric demand on Tuesday would top last summer's all-time high and warned power supplies could fall short on both Monday and Tuesday.
ERCOT, which said operating conditions were normal on Sunday, has ways to increase supplies and reduce usage if necessary. Those include calls for conservation and programs that encourage businesses to use on-site generation.
The drop in U.S. gas availability so far this week was the most in over a year, with supplies on track to fall by around 9.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) from Jan. 8-14 to an estimated 11-month low of 98.6 bcfd on Jan. 14, according to data from financial firm LSEG.
That decline so far was small compared with gas supply losses of around 19.6 bcfd during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, and 20.4 bcfd during the February freeze of 2021.
Electricity supply and demand forecasts can change quickly, however, as power plant availability and weather patterns develop. The February 2021 freeze left millions in Texas without power, water and heat for days and resulted in over 200 deaths as ERCOT scrambled to prevent a grid collapse after an unusually large amount of generation shut.
Some of those power plants shut because they could not access enough gas supplies after frigid temperatures froze wells and other equipment, known in the energy industry as freeze-offs.
DEMAND SOARS
U.S. gas demand, including exports, will reach 164.6 bcfd on
Read more on investing.com
